Suburban Stage for the week of Aug. 19-25

Kerry Reid, Special to the Tribune

"The Student Prince": Yes, beer gardens in musicals have had a sinister hue since "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" in "Cabaret." But Sigmund Romberg and Dorothy Donnelly's 1924 operetta about Karl Franz, the heir to the fictional kingdom of Karlsberg who falls in love with Kathie, a comely innkeeper's daughter, has about as much relationship to Weimar-era Germany as, well, "Brigadoon" (Light Opera Works' last production) has to life in the Scottish Highlands. Princely honor and young love collide, punctuated by high-spirited drinking songs, in this popular tale. Through Aug. 28 at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston; $32-$92 at 847-869-6300 orlightoperaworks.com

"They're Playing Our Song:" More late-summer love blossoms in St. Charles, as real-life couple Michael Mahler and Dara Cameron star in this musical about the real-life romance of Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, who wrote the score for Neil Simon's book. Through Oct. 9 at Fox Valley Repertory, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles; $29-$39 at 630-584-6342 orfoxvalleyrep.org

"Under the Streetlamp": And there's always time for a little bro-mance. The quartet of guys who played the "Jersey Boys" during that show's long Chicago run reunite for one evening in Merrillville. The Star Plaza engagement, which includes doo-wop, Motown, and other American pop favorites as well as behind-the-scenes snapshots about life in showbiz from the Boys, stars Michael Ingersoll, Michael Cunio, Christopher Kale Jones and Shonn Wiley. It's being taped for broadcast on PBS. 8. p.m. Saturday at Star Plaza Theatre, 8001 Delaware Place, Merrillville, Ind.; $45 at starplazatheatre.com

"Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright": Theatre-Hikes moves away from fantasy to focus on the Wright stuff. Jeffrey Hatcher and Eric Simonson's play traces the architect's career from its early days to the end, when the lion of the Prairie School looks back on what he's lost and won during his journey. 1 p.m. Saturday at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton; $10 at theatre-hikes.org